Press Release Article

Nearly 800 people will compete in a bistate dash through the Lincoln Tunnel at 9 a.m. on Sunday, April 27, 2003, in an event to benefit Special Olympics New Jersey.

The 17th Annual 5-Kilometer (3.1-mile) Lincoln Tunnel Challenge, sponsored by the Port Authority Police Department, will begin on the New Jersey side of the tunnel. Runners will proceed through the tunnel’s South Tube into Manhattan and return through the same tube to the finish line in Weehawken, N.J.

Last year, more than 600 runners participated in the event, which raised more than $40,000 for Special Olympics New Jersey.

Participants will assemble beginning at 7 a.m. in the NJ Transit bus parking lot located on Boulevard East between 19th Street and Baldwin Avenue in Weehawken. Beginning at 7 a.m., free shuttle service to and from the race will be provided at 41st Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues in Manhattan.

The South Tube will be closed to traffic during the race. No traffic delays are anticipated.

The tunnel and roadway are cleaned the night before the run, and fresh air is pumped into the tunnel during the race.

The registration fee is $20. All contestants will receive a Lincoln Tunnel Challenge T-shirt, bottled water and refreshments. All participants are eligible for gifts and prizes.

Registration forms are available in advance at the Youth Services Office in the Port Authority Bus Terminal from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., the PATH police desk at the Journal Square Transportation Center in Jersey City, at various sporting goods stores throughout the region and on the Special Olympics New Jersey Web site – www.sonj.org. Participants are asked to bring their registration form with them on the day of the race.

For more information, competitors can check the Special Olympics New Jersey Web site or call 609 734-8400.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operates some of the busiest and most important transportation links in the region. They include John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia and Teterboro airports; the George Washington Bridge; the Lincoln and Holland tunnels; the three bridges between Staten Island and New Jersey; the PATH rapid-transit system; the Downtown Manhattan Heliport; Port Newark; the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal; the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island; the Brooklyn Piers/Red Hook Container Terminal; and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan. The agency also owns the 16-acre World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. The Port Authority is financially self-supporting and receives no tax revenue from either state.